Archaic Time Measures Calculator
The Sexagesimal Time System:
Medieval timekeepers used a base-60 system to divide time beyond seconds. Each unit is 1/60 of the previous unit, continuing the pattern of minutes and seconds.
About Archaic Time Measures
In medieval times, scholars continued the sexagesimal (base-60) system beyond minutes and seconds:
- Minutes (prima) - "first" division of the hour (60 seconds)
- Seconds (secunda) - "second" division of the hour (1 second)
- Thirds (tertia) - "third" division (1/60 second)
- Fourths (quarta) - "fourth" division (1/3600 second)
- Fifths (quinta) - "fifth" division (1/216,000 second)
- Sixths (sexta) - "sixth" division (1/12,960,000 second)
This system was inherited from ancient Babylonian mathematics and astronomy, which used base-60 counting. While these tiny divisions weren't practically measurable in medieval times, they were used in astronomical calculations and theoretical timekeeping.
